


Teacups and Lakes

by Ltwillbush



Category: Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: Aquaphobia, Blood, M/M, evil teacups injuring my baby, mention of injury, swimming lessons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-10-23 15:53:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10722462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ltwillbush/pseuds/Ltwillbush
Summary: Trip takes it upon himself to teach Malcolm to swim. Unfortunately, Malcolm's feelings and an evil teacup get in the way.





	Teacups and Lakes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GuardianofFun](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GuardianofFun/gifts).



> Trigger warning: blood
> 
> Tor features in my previous fic - her origin is explained there.

He hated this. Hated how Trip made him feel. How at least a third of the sentences tumbling from those ridiculous lips made his stomach clench, his chest ache, his mouth downturn. But he couldn’t focus on that, think about it - he’d end up wasting a whole day again, like that day about three weeks ago when he’d had to slink to sickbay and quietly request the day off because even the thought of going to the bridge made him want to vomit.

He sighed tiredly, and allowed himself to rest his head on the edge of the desk. Tor, the puppy Jon Archer had recently gifted him - with some assistance from the Andorian he was flirting at - yipped at his ankles, and he lifted her into his lap. At least this way, he was less tempted to punch something.

*

Some time later, Malcolm sat quietly on the bed - bunk - in his quarters, staring down at the PADD in his hands. It was currently displaying a message from the Captain, sent to all of the crew aboard  _ Enterprise _ .

_ Attention all staff; _

_ As many of you know we are currently in orbit around an M Class planet. The away team has now completed primary surveys and it has been deemed safe, therefore I am granting every member of crew 48 hours shore leave, to be taken in three blocks. Please find the list attached detailing while block you will be in. Enjoy! _

_ Archer _

_ P.S. bring your swimsuits! _

_ P.P.S. Senior staff - water polo, anyone? _

It was that last sentence that make Malcolm’s stomach tie itself up in knots - he couldn’t swim, was, in fact, terrified of any body of water larger than a bath. And even those made him squirm sometimes.

The door chimed, and he braced himself for it to be Jon, trying to persuade him to be… scrum half or something. “Enter!”

Instead of the Captain, it was Trip that entered, smiling broadly. “Looks like we’re in the same block for leave, Mal. Fancy making up a team t’ take on the captain?”

Ah. Not such a lucky escape, then.

“It’s… not my thing.”

“Awh, come on, Mal! It’d be fun!”

“Not for me. I’d rather-”

“What, go for a walk all on your lonesome?” Trip was clearly teasing, but Malcolm’s stomach still twisted uncomfortably. 

“Commander-”

“Mal, relax, you don’t need t’ call me  _ commander _ to get out of this. What’s up?” Trip flopped down in the desk chair, crossing his ankles casually. Malcolm winced.

“Trip, I… I don’t want to play water polo, because I can’t swim.”

“You can’t?” Trip looked at him in surprise. “But I thought you went to the beach as a kid. Did no one teach you to swim?”

“Rather hard to learn to swim when you have a panic attack if you get within five feet of the water.” malcolm replied quietly, lowering his head. Trip frowned, and reached to squeeze his shoulder.

“I’d offer to help, but…”

Malcolm managed a weak smile. “I’d hate for you to see me panic. Again.”

“The last time doesn’t count.” Trip waved a hand. “Come on. At least try it out. If you’re not up for it, we can take Tor for a good long walk. She’s never felt sand, has she?”

“No, she hasn’t. Never felt ground.” malcolm admitted sheepishly. “I’ll… I’ll give it a try.”

“Huh. I didn’t even have t’ bribe you.” Trip grinned, and Malcolm looked over wryly.

“Bribe me?”

“I had some good bribes, too. Could have given you a kiss or anythin’.” Trip was clearly teasing, but Malcolm still felt sick anyway. What wouldn’t he give to have Trip willingly kissing him.

“No need. We should get ready, the shuttles are setting off soon.”

“I’ll meet ya in the launch bay.”

“Of course.” Malcolm turned away to collect together his things, and Trip showed himself out.

*

Malcolm, with Tor at his feet, stepped out of the shuttlepod and blinked dazedly in the bright sunlight. The rest of the group they’d come down with were already wandering off, Archer and Porthos in the lead as they all headed down to the beach. Trip, though, had done some research, and led Malcolm in another direction, towards a shallow lake perfect for a swimming lesson.

They walked in peaceful silence until they were about twenty feet from the shoreline, when malcolm froze, a tiny squeak of fear escaping him - not that he’d ever admit to it. Trip turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow.

“Alright, Mal?”

“F-fine.” Malcolm glanced down to Tor, who was running ahead, tail wagging eagerly in a way he’d only seen when he put a rugby game on the PADD and she tried to catch the ball with one small paw. He swallowed hard, and took another few slow, hesitant steps. Trip’s hand landed on his shoulder, and squeezed firmly.

“If you don’t wanna do this-”

“No, I… I want to. I’m just… nervous.”

“I’ll hold ya hand, Loo-tenant.” That smirk-smile again, that teasing tone that made Malcolm want to retch. Really, it only made him more determined to get this over and done with as soon as possible. Seeing Trip with his shirt off… it was going to be painful.

“I’ll be fine.” he set his small bag down, shrugging his jumpsuit off to leave him in swim shorts and a black t-shirt. Trip stripped to a similar state of dress, and padded to the edge of the lake, Tor sitting down in the shallowest part of the water before rolling over blissfully. Malcolm hesitantly dipped a toe in, swallowing hard. He felt sick just looking at the water from a safe distance, and now…

He retched hard, turning away from the water just in time to throw up on the sandy-dusty ground. Trip’s eyes widened, and he hurried over to rub his back.

“You really are terrified of the water, huh?”

“Just slightly.” Malcolm wiped his mouth shakily. “I’m sorry for spoiling your shore leave.”

“You’ve spoiled nothin’. I’m gettin’ to spend time with ya, ain’t I?”

Malcolm looked confused. “I suppose so.”

“Then let’s go for a walk instead. I heard T’Pol sayin’-”

“No, I- I want to do this.” Malcolm glanced back to the lake, face pale, but mouth determined. “If I ever need to swim to save a member of the crew-”

“Mal. It’s alright. Ya don’t have t’ do this.” Trip squeezed his shoulder firmly, and then slipped an arm around him in a quick half-hug. “If ya wanna get in the water, fine, but don’t go doin’ it for me.”

“What if I want to do it for you?” malcolm finally met his eyes, though his cheeks heated up. “They say that we do stupid things for people we care about.”

Trip blushed to match him. “Oh? You care about me?”

“I do.” Malcolm replied with a shrug. “Is that a problem?”

Trip considered him for a moment, then shrugged. “Nah. Jus’ means I’ll be a little more careful about chuckin’ you in at the deep end. Wouldn’ wanna kiss someone half drowned.”

Malcolm spluttered at him, and Trip took off running. Malcolm followed on autopilot, and before he knew it, he was up to his knees in the lake. Trip grinned at him, before chuckling as Tor paddled past.

“Well, she’s mastered it.”

“Seems so.” Malcolm managed a smile, still not sure he was okay with being in the water. Trip put his arm back around Malcolm’s waist, smiling softly.

“Come on, then. If you can get as deep as your waist, I’ll give you that kiss.”

“I’d rather you didn’t joke about things like that.” Malcolm glanced to him, and Trip squeezed him slightly closer.

“I wouldn’t joke about that. I uh… I kinda figured you liked me after… what happened in the shuttle. I jus’... didn’ know how t’ get ya alone. T’Pol walkin’ in’d be…”

“Mortifying?” Malcolm suggested, edging forward a little. Trip’s arm around his waist was honestly the only thing keeping him from bolting, and if the captain even  _ mentioned _ water polo he’d probably scream and run, but he kept moving, until finally, the water was up to his waist. Trip hugged him tight, his grin blinding.

“I knew ya could do it.”

“There’s rather a large difference between this and swimming, though.”

“Well, we have 48 whole hours t’ get ya up to Tor’s speed. But first, I think I owe ya a kiss…”

“Don’t… don’t tease.” Malcolm pulled away - he felt panic rise in him instantly - and set off back for shore, head down. “I… I’m going to head back. I’ll see you later.”

“Mal…” Trip trailed off as he watched the other man go, feeling like a fool. He’d hoped that Malcolm would know he was serious - that he really did want to kiss the other man, hold him - but clearly, it hadn’t worked.

And now, because of him, Malcolm was even sadder than he had been to start with.

*

Malcolm slumped into the desk chair, running a hand through his hair tiredly. He’d left Tor with Trip, and he was regretting it now - he could have used a hug, even if it was only from a canine the size of his forearm. He reached for his teacup, and the handle snapped off - bloody typical - leaving him with a puddle of tea and a heap of shards. He swore at it (it was obviously the tea cup’s fault) and leaned forward to get a cloth, and-

Well, shit. That was deep.

*

“Archer to Reed.” Jon held his communicator open, frowning down at it. At his ankles, Porthos whined sadly, evidently missing his second-favourite human. Malcolm wasn’t answering, even though Jon was certain that he was in this group. His worry only increased as Tor appeared, soaking wet and bouncing around in obvious excitement.

“Malcolm, come in.”

Silence.

He frowned, and called the bridge instead. Within five minutes, he was standing outside malcolm’s door, tapping in the override code reserved for ‘emergencies only’. He stepped inside, and immediately swore.

Malcolm was slumped on the bed, one hand flung out to the side towards the floor, a vivid scarlet slash across one wrist. Jon swore again, hastily sending a call to Phlox, telling him there was a medical emergency. Then - thanking everything Malcolm was small and slim - he picked the other man up, and whisked him off to sickbay. Once Malcolm was safely under Phlox’s care, he turned to comm Trip.

Forty-five minutes later, the doors opened to admit a distinctly agitated southerner, who was carrying Tor in the crook of his arm. He set her down, and the puppy darted across to ‘her’ human, whining anxiously.

“How is he, doc?”

“Alive, just about. It seems he injured himself on the remains of a teacup that… took the brunt of his anger. I’ll be keeping him here for at least 72 hours, to ensure he recovers fully.”

“Is he awake?”

“Partially. He seems… confused. Disorientated. It may be the painkillers.”

“Can I see him?”

“By all means.” Phlox gestured, and Trip quickly crossed to the only occupied biobed. Malcolm’s head turned at his approach, and grey eyes - a little unfocused - regarded him in confusion.

“Commander?”

“Hey.” Trip regarded him, raising an eyebrow. “What happened?”

“Nothing that need concern you.” Malcolm turned his head away again, and Trip moved to rest a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey. You ain’t allowed t’ die yet.”

“Oh? And why not?” Malcolm looked at him tiredly, 

“Because…” Trip paused, quickly glancing behind him to check if Phlox was eavesdropping. “Because we never finished our talk from before.”

“Oh, I think we did.” Malcolm went to fold his arms, but aborted the movement with a wince. “You made fun of me… seemed to be about it, in my opinion.”

“Made fun of you?” Trip’s eyebrows drew in, clearly baffled. “What made you think that?”

“You kept… teasing. On the surface.”

Trip just blinked. “I wasn’t teasing you, Malcolm. I was… I thought you liked me.”

Malcolm blinked slowly. “I… I do, but… I’d rather you didn’t… use that against me.”

Trip made a soft noise. “Malcolm, I swear t’ god, I wasn’t making fun of you. I wanted t’ kiss you.”

“But-”

“Malcolm, hush. Just… trust me?”

“Of course I trust you, but, Trip-”

Trip bent, pressing a soft kiss to Malcolm’s forehead. “Once Phlox lets ya outta here, I’mma take you back to that lake. But no drownin’ ya not allowed t’ die just yet.”

“Oh? And why’s that?” Malcolm asked, distinctly pink-cheeked after the kiss. Trip just grinned.

“Well, I ain’t had a chance t’ prove that I love ya jus’ yet.”

 


End file.
